Shade cord lock



oct. 6,1936. y l M B, BENSON 2,056,154-

` SHADE CORD LOCK Filed Feb. 26, 1935 lNvENToR l ATTORNEY5- PatentedGet. 6, 1936 UNITED lSTATES PATENT OFFICE signor, by

mesne assignments,

to Mayfair Shade Corporation, New York, N. Y., acorporation of 'New YorkApplication February 2&5, 1935, SeriaINo. 8,241

l. laim.

, This invention relates to shade cord locks and more especially tolcord locks for shades of the type which are raised by being rolled upfrom between corresponding edges thereof and has a curved extensionlying between said parallel portions. A lever is pivoted at one end tothe plate and is arranged to have its free end swing into clampingrelation to said intermediate portion.

0 The lock is mounted on any suitable support with both the parallelportions and theiitermediate portion in vertical position so that thelever swings about a horizontal axis. The shade cords are passedvertically between the intermediate portion and the curved extension andthe lever is held with its free end spaced slightly from theintermediate portion of the plate. The arrangement of the cords is suchthat the weight of the shade with which the cords are associated tendsto move them upward. So long as the cords remain strictly vertical, thelever has no locking action, but if they are moved laterally to engagethe end of the lever and then released, they pull the end of the levertoward clamping relation with the intermediate portion and thus arelocked against further upward movement.

Other objects, novel features and advantages of this invention willbecomev apparent from the following specication and accompanyingdrawing. wherein:

Fig. l, is a perspective view of a shade par-VH tially broken awayequipped with a cord lock 4embodying the invention;

'Fig 2 isa fragmentary enlarged view partiallybroken away of the shadeshown in Fig. l;

Fig. 3 is a plan view of the cord lock;

Fig. t is a side elevation thereof, and

Fig. 5 is a section on the line -pf Fig. 3.

The shade shown in the drawing consists of a head ill and a plurality ofhorizontally slight` ly spaced'slats ii whichV arel interconnected inthe well-known manner by strings i2. The slatsy ii are supported fromthe head i0 in1any suitable manner and a face plate ina is also attachedto the head l0 and overlies the top slats. An operating cord I3 has itsends attached to clips l3a attached to the head and passes under thelower end of the shade and through grommets l3b in the head `in thewell-known 5 manner for shades of this type.

A lock is provided for holding the operating cord in any desiredposition of adjustment of the shade. This lock is supported by the headl0 and comprises a plate i4 having 'one end bent iirst l0 at rightangles to and then back over theremainder to form a portion i5 parallelto the main portion and intermediate connecting portion i6.

A tab il integral with the portion I5 is bent at right angles theretoand extends from the top l5 edge of the portion i5 to the top edge ofthe main portion of the plate. A curved extension it of the tab liesbetween two parallel portions oi the plate and defines a. passagewaywith the intermediate portion i6. A lever i9 is pivoted at one end tothe main portion of the plate l'li and is provided at its free end witha right angle projection 20 which is adapted to swing into clampingrelation to the intermediate portion it.

A stop 2i is struck up from the plate i4 to limit 25 swinging movementot the free end of the lever i@ away from the intermediate portion i6.

,The lock is supported from the head it by screws 22 in a position inwhich all three portions are vertically arranged. The operating cordspass 3,

over the tabs il along an extension i8 and Y through the passagewaydeined by the extension it and' intermediate portion it, into be graspedby the operator.

position to With the operating cords in a strictly vertical 3f`-position, they are free to move up and down through the passageway inthe locli withtth lever it remaining in an inoperative position. When itis desired to lock the shade in an intermediate or fully raisedposition, the cords are swung 4 laterally to engage the projection ,2li,on ythe lever and are then released. They move upwardly for a shortdistance, carrying the lever with them until they are securely clampedbetween the end of the lever and the intermediate portion 5 it,whereupon the shade is locked. A straight downward pull on the cordsmoves the lever out of clamping relation and it then drops by gravityinto engagement with its stop 2l.

As will readily be apparent, the lock consists 50 merely of two parts,namely, the plate and the lever, both of which can be easily andeconomically fabricated from sheet metal by the 'usual stamping andbending operations. '.Ihe completed lock is easily actuated andeiciently clamps 55 the cords to hold the shade in any position ofadjustment.

claim:

A cord lock comprising an integral plate having two parallel portionsjoined by an intermediate portion perpendicular to said two portions, atab extending from the top edge of one of said parallel portions intoengagement with the top edge of the remaining parallel portion andconstituting a cord guide, said tab having a curved extensionlyingbetween said parallel portions and dening a cord passageway with saidintermediate portion, and a lever pivoted to one parallel portion at apoint removed from the intermediate portion and being arranged to haveits free end swing into position below said cord guide to clamp againstsaid intermediate portion a cord passing downwardly from said cord guidethrough said cord passageway, said lever being normally maintained outof clamping position by gravity and being lifted into clamping positionby frictional engagement with a cord extending through 10 said cordpassageway.

MELWN B. BENSON.

